U.N. report: Syria chemical attack 'large scale'

3:32 PM,
Sep. 16, 2013

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, right, and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius arrive for a news conference at the Quai d'Orsay after a foreign ministers meeting to discuss developments in Syria, Paris, Monday, Sept. 16, 2013. The U.S. and its closest allies laid out a two-pronged approach in Syria on Monday, calling for enforceable U.N. benchmarks for eradicating the country's chemical weapons program and an international conference bolstering the moderate opposition. (AP Photo/Larry Downing, Pool)

Written by

Oren Dorell, USA TODAY

United Nations inspectors confirmed Monday that a large-scale chemical attack killed hundreds of people in Syria last month. But a deal between the U.S. and Russia to dismantle Syria's chemical stocks will likely leave the man responsible for that attack in charge, analysts and rebels say.

Andrew Tabler, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said President Obama's policy laid down more than two years ago that Syrian dictator Bashar Assad "must go" may itself be gone as a result of the deal.

"The problem now is Assad is part of this process which means he's not going ...